Suspension CRAZY STIFF!!! Advice?!?!

First off new to the forum!

Just bought a 1975 CJ-5 with 232ci, T-14 or T-15 transmission, Dana 20 Transfer case for $500. Lots of rust and not really working great. Its a beater with NO Heater and I live in Alaska now so.....its pretty interesting to drive here. Got some odd looks when i drove it and it was -20F outside! Love the little thing but got some a few little questions and i`ll tell ya`ll about what i have learned about it so far!

#1. My dad had an old CJ-7 growing up, dont remeber year, suspension was a little stiff, my new CJ-5 is STUPIDLY STIFF!! It has new Pro-Comp 2.5in lift and shocks but has the OEM shackels. Will that make it very stiff? I am talking i hit a little dip in the road and the front tires JUMP about 6in of the ground! It is a handfull to drive at speed because of this. I would not care about that BUT i took it on some trails and no flex at all! Up hills and in Mud its a beast but any thing a little bumpy, it dont like!

Any advice on how to make flex? im on a pretty cheap budget! (I.E. what ever my wife gives me)

#2. How can i tell if its a T-14 tranny or a T-15? i heard they look the same on the outside just the guts are diffrent.

#3. How tall is the factory seat bracket that mounts to the floor? the seats someone had installed are WAY to tall. the front lip of the sit is 18in from the floor. the stearing wheel is pretty much my seat belt. this must be changed!

#4. Has anyone ever had their fuel pump diaphram rot out? When i got it there was a lot of gas in the oil. i didnt think too much about it, thought it was an old trick to get the gunk out of the engine, but i changed the oil 2 times and it still came back. im talking a lot of gas in the oil!!! I pulled out about 12 quarts the last time i did it! i swaped for a new fuel pump and its all good now! Just a little info if any one has that problem!

#5. whats a cheap way to put an HEI ignition it it? 232 inline 6. i heard a GM ignition will fit in. anyone heard of that?

We are going on our first camping trip on the 15th to a glacier with the jeep. ill put some pics up after then!

Thanks for reading and thanks for any advice!

SSgt. Robert D. Maughan, USAF
Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK

 

WELCOME SARGE!
The only thing to soften up the ride would be to replace the springs to softer ones,,,

 

sounds like my 74 until I measure the spring and found they were the wrong. measure the spring, it should 39 3/4" in front ...center of eye to center of eye.

 

Correct-- mine would not move at all (from 16 years of sitting) so I removed all shackle bolts and wire brushed them clean, applied chassis lube and re-assembled. What a big difference. Guess that is why some shackle kits have grease fittings.

 

My experience is Pro-comp lifts tend to be stiff, but not that stuff. What they said about the shackle/spring bolts. The T-14 and T-15 are different animals, not just the guts. If a stock 6 cylinder Jeep you should have a T-14 but if you post up a pic of the top I can id it for you. You will need to host to Photobucket or something similar and link it here.
You can use a GM 6 cylinder hei with the vacuum advance. You will need to use the AMC V-8 drive gear. I've heard some 6 cylinder drive gears will work but I've used the V-8 units with success. Never tried the 6 cylinder units. The hei is a very good up grade! You will need new ignition wires and open up the the plug gap to around .040" to .045" to get full benefit.
Fuel pumps can and do rot/tear out. If you are getting fuel in the crankcase I'd suspect the fuel pump. Replace it and see what happens.

If you can post up a pic of your seat brackets we could probably help better with that.

Finally, Welcome! and thanks for your service to our country!

 

You can pull a spring or two out of the pack, this will soften up the spring some. Down side to pulling springs will be spring wrap, so some sort of traction bar may be required.

Example, I pulled two springs out of an OOOOOLD school super stiff lift. This worked pretty well on the street but gave horrible spring wrap in the sand.
One fix I was thinking about was cutting 1/2 the removed springs off and reinstalling them. This mod would act similar to slapper bars but not hang down low to catch on everything.

 

The first thing to try to soften up the springs is to loosen all the shackles bolts and jump up and down on each corner to flex the springs good. Then re-tighten.

Its a common mistake made when installing a lift. The shackle bolts get reefed down while the jeep is still jacked up and the springs are too arched, making for a rediculously stiff ride like you are describing.

Try that, its free and easy.

 

I just installed the CRT Performance HEI. No mixing and matching of parts or looking through junkyards. It was 149.99 w/ 8mm plug wires or 119.99 without. Super easy install, in depth instructions.
If I could just get the body back on I could be driving around!

 

Is that close to 39 and 1/2" ?

 

I have a new pro-comp 2.5 with shocks and it rides real nice compared to the worn/rusted factory springs.....

 

HAHAHA too quick on the draw meant to say 39 3/4"

 

6/8ths?
12/16ths?

 

Thanks for all the help!

I will try to loosing the shackels a little tonight. I will get some pics up when i can, right now i am in the Academy and have no time really to do anything!

Also, i've noticed this little 232 is VERY torquey. barking a 2nd is NO problem! It has sat since 2001. i spent about $500 tuning it up and it is the best running vehicle i own! just looks like crap.

I'll look into the HEI kit. I've dealt with Chevy V8's alot and was thinking about swapping for one but after looking at prices there is not really a big price diff! I have owned a K-5 blazer, i would trade it in a second for this jeep!

You can say I'm a Jeep fan now!!

Thanks

SSgt. Robert D. Maughan, USAF
Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK

 

The springs are 39 3/4
the shackels are just shy of 4in

i loosened the shackel bolts, didnt make a big diff! i read about the angle of the shackels, mine are vertical to about 5 degrees pointing IN! So im thinking about getting new shackels maybe 6in or so!

i also read about removing a spring pack!

How is this done? do i have to grind off the rivet holding them together? is it a rivet? is it safe?

SSgt. Robert D. Maughan, USAF
Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, AK

 

I suppose you could always go to coil springs/link suspension. Using the right parts it can be done real cheap.

 

on my springs Its not a rivet, its a bolt that goes all the way through all the springs. Its under a decent amount of pressure from compressing all those springs together, so if you grind it off be prepared for the whole thing to go in many directions. (might wanna wear a cup..)
if you can unbolt it it would be a safer route.

welcome and thanks for all that you do atriot:

 

I think hes talking about the rivits that hold the spring hanger to the frame.

Do you have a pic of shackles?

With the same lift kit i have a 15-20* forward angle on the shackles.

 

:uwop:

 

my bad